A New Spark
by Tehri
Summary: The spark between them needs to be rekindled, and a fistfight seems to do the job. Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine!


Kyouraku Shunsui felt disappointed. Which was not a, for him, familiar feeling. He wasn't sure about how he should describe it; it was like something had been clawing at his guts for a few weeks, and now it was working on his heart. And he felt surprisingly bad about that. He told himself, over and over, that there was nothing to feel bad about. After all, he led a wonderful life and he had wonderful people to work with (and annoy until they finally snapped and threw something at him). Plus, he had a wonderful lover, Ukitake Juushirou. Now, he knew everything about his dear lover. He knew the colour of his hair and his eyes and skin, he knew his physique, he knew his voice, his smell, his reiatsu, and he knew exactly what to do to make the white-haired man gasp and shiver and beg for more. And it annoyed him. A lot. Also not a very familiar feeling. They had been lovers for about a year now, and it was like they had gotten to know everything about each other, and therefore didn't have more to explore in any way. Because Juushirou now also knew everything about Shunsui, all the way down to the point where he could read pretty much every single look that the man would get in his eye (which was usually the "let's get drunk off our asses and spend the entire weekend in bed together"-look).

But now?

Juushirou was boring. And Shunsui had never thought he would say those words at all; he loved the other man so much, and yet... Yet it was as if the spark had just disappeared and left emptiness.

He sighed deeply and leaned against the wall, watching Juushirou work. It had gone back to the usual; only difference was that Shunsui would actually be patient and wait until the other captain was done. It had become a routine; and as a man who normally did everything on a whim, Kyouraku Shunsui despised routine. But Juushirou didn't seem to want to break it at all. He sighed and poured himself another cup of sake, noticing that the jug had started to get increasingly lighter.

"Shoot", he muttered. "Almost out."

Juushirou glanced quickly at him.

"Maybe you should leave it at that", he said quietly. "You drink far too much anyway, Shunsui... How about some tea instead, hm?"

Shunsui whined like a wounded puppy at that, and Juushirou did not push the subject. Which made Shunsui feel a little bit unwanted. He got up on his feet, swayed just a little bit and walked over to the door.

"I'll just go for a walk", he said. "I feel like there's no air in here."

Juushirou blinked and watched him go.

As soon as he got outside, Shunsui turned back to his more sober self (the incredible feat that could only be accomplished by him: getting drunk and then suddenly be sober whenever the situation craved it) and started to wander. Juu just wasn't exciting anymore, not like he used to be. And Shunsui didn't feel much better himself, remembering how automatic his lover's responds had been just a few nights ago. They didn't spend as much time together as he'd like, and when they actually did meet and stay with each other over the night, they were both so quiet. Far too quiet. At the beginning of their relationship, they'd be awake almost the entire night, talking about everything between heaven and earth, anything they could ever think of. But not anymore.

"And so we slip back into the routine", he muttered to himself, continuing to wander until he actually ended up rather far from the divisions; in fact, he ended up in one of the not so very fine establishments where he could find as much alcohol as he could stomach and all the ladies he'd ever wish for. And when he left, it was already midnight, and he was drunk enough to sway rather violently as he walked. But he didn't quite care about it. In fact, he planned to go there again.

"Need to take my mind off things", he muttered as he finally stumbled into his room and sank down on a chair. "Just... need to make myself forget for a while..."

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It was early in the morning when Ise Nanao stormed into her captain's quarters to wake him up by way of slapping him and yelling at him. However, she found the room spotless and neat. The bed had not been slept in, and not even the jug of sake on the table had been moved since yesterday morning. She frowned a bit, noticing a note on the table as well. It read: "_Out. Will be back later. I suppose. Not sure yet. Depends on how drunk I manage to get. Will leave things in your care for a little while, Nanao-chan. If you see Juu, tell him I don't have time or that I dropped dead. Take care._" She stared for a split second. It was Kyouraku's handwriting, no doubt about it. And it was obvious that the note had been written while he was still fairly intoxicated. With a deep sigh, she grabbed the note and left the room to see if she could find Ukitake.

Juushirou, in question, was sitting out on the porch by his office with a cup of tea in his hands, looking as serene as always; quite a feat if one considered that Sentarou's and Kiyone's yelling probably could be heard over half of Seireitei. He didn't move until Nanao was just by his side.

"Is something the matter, Ise-kun", he asked kindly.

She sighed and held out the note, and he read it carefully a few times before allowing himself to frown.

"You found this in his room", he asked as he stood up, and Nanao quickly nodded. "Figures... Ise-kun, go back to your division. I'll see if I can find him."

It didn't take much to find out where Shunsui had gone. In fact, he had left a trail of confused and worried shinigami in his wake, among them Matsumoto Rangiku and Hitsugaya Toushirou.

"He looked like someone had told him that life was a lie or something", Matsumoto said, mournfully glancing over her shoulder, taking a sip from a jug of sake. "Just... awful."

Hitsugaya sighed and shook his head.

"If you really want to find him, Ukitake-taichou", he muttered, "then he's in one of the less fine establishments. I just dragged Matsumoto out of one of those places, we saw him slip past us and into the next one."

Juushirou thanked them quickly and hurried on. What on earth had gotten into that dork? Shunsui was not a man who'd normally go to these areas, even though he did admittedly know them as well as the back of his own hand. Matsumoto only went here on those days when she felt like being a complete stranger, just a woman looking for fun. Why Shunsui would come here, of all places, Juushirou had absolutely no idea.

_And here you thought you knew him, huh? Yep, really good going there, Juushirou. No really, it's just brilliant! You think you know him so well, but you can't even figure out why he'd go here! Aren't you supposed to be smart?_

He cursed under his breath and then blinked as he saw Shunsui come wobbling around a corner.

"Shunsui", he called.

Shunsui blinked and turned his head, his eyes seeming unfocused at first. Then, he seemed to realise who the person running towards him was. And he flinched. Within a second, he was gone, and Juushirou cursed angrily. Shunpo. From earlier drunken escapades, Juushirou knew very well that Shunsui somehow got faster when he was drunk. It was no use to even try and catch up with him now...

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The next day, all captains were called to a meeting. As usual, Shunsui and Juushirou were the last to show, and as usual they stopped for a moment outside the door. Juushirou regarded his lover with a dark gaze.

"I dearly hope you've sobered up", he said. "Just how much did you drink yesterday?"

Shunsui closed his eyes, carefully avoiding any sort of eye-contact.

"Not enough", he replied calmly. "Clearly, I am still sober. So I didn't drink enough, because I was hoping that I would still be completely out of it by this time of the day..."

"Honestly, Shunsui", Juushirou groaned. "How much of a moron can you actually be? Drinking that much just isn't good for you, no matter how many years of experience with alcohol you have. You've been acting strange for a long time now, and I've been worried sick about you. You'll kill yourself like this!" Shunsui's eyes snapped open again, but Juushirou ignored the angry glare he got and continued. "And what am I supposed to do if that happens, hm? Go around and think about my best friend who drunk himself to death in a sudden bout of self-pity? That's just pathetic, Shunsui. Get a grip, will you?"

Shunsui gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"You aren't much better, are you", he growled. "You worry a lot about others, but you're really a big hypocrite, like you've always been. Always acting like you might die within a few hours. And even though you're kind to people, you just worry about dying, don't you? You've been living in self-pity ever since you were born, so why would it matter to you if I decided to go on a drinking binge?"

Juushirou blinked and stared.

"What did you just say", he hissed. "You did _not_ just say..."

"Oh, I said it. You heard me say it. You. Are. A. Hypocrite."

"Why, you...!"

"Oh dear, little Juu-chan is mad! I'm _so_ scared!"

"Shunsui, I swear..." A sigh. "You will honestly kill me like this..."

As Juushirou turned his head to look at Shunsui for a moment while the door opened, he blinked and gasped as a clenched fist suddenly came flying and hit him square in the face. Gasps and outbursts from the room where the other captains were, and Juushirou stumbled backwards and fell down. Shunsui loomed over him with a strange look on his face that simply didn't belong there.

"Stop saying those words", he snapped. "I am not going to kill you, and you won't get yourself killed either. But when you act like this, I actually feel like I _do_ want to kill you, and maybe I should have done that long ago!"

Juushirou stared.

Blinked.

And then, his eyes flashed with sudden fury, and he flew up, punching Shunsui as hard as he could. And with that, the fight had started. They punched, kicked and yelled at each other, calling each other names that made even Mayuri and Kenpachi blink and flinch. Shunsui attempted to hit Juushirou's jaw and the white-haired captain bit his hand, drawing blood. Shunsui blinked.

"Oh, that's it", he growled angrily and threw himself over his old friend.

The other captains quickly went outside, staring after the two men who were now taking the fight elsewhere. Yamamoto looked, as expected, much less surprised than everyone else.

"Unohana-taichou", he said calmly. "Make sure that you're ready to treat whatever injuries they might have once they decide to calm down and talk instead of acting like small children."

Unohana nodded quietly, but didn't move. They could still see the two captains (and more, hear them). No need to hurry. But soon, they disappeared from sight.

"It would appear that they are heading towards Ukitake-taichou's residence", said Byakuya quietly as he picked up the two men's reiatsu.

And sure enough, at the Ugendou they stopped. They were both breathing heavily, and Juushirou felt strangely proud over not breaking into a coughing fit even once during the fight. They still glared at each other; Shunsui was pinned to the wall thanks to Juushirou's firm grip around his wrists, and he felt strangely comfortable with it.

"You", Juushirou said, still breathing heavily. "You are the most reckless, aggravating and perverted person in Seireitei."

And without even knowing why, he pressed himself up against the other man and kissed him hard. Shunsui tried to resist, but he did return the kiss with a strange passion. As they moved inside, Juushirou decisively pushed him down on the bed and started to undress him, planting kisses along every inch of skin that was slowly exposed as he worked. Shunsui groaned and attempted to push him away, but he simply grabbed the man's wrists again and held him down. They looked into each other's eyes; they both had the fury left in their gaze, but it was a fury that was slowly getting mixed with intense passion. Soon, Juushirou released Shunsui, who allowed his hands to roam free over the other man's body and pale skin. Every single touch made the pale captain moan and wriggle; he made noises that Shunsui had only heard in his more heated and private fantasies, noises that no one would ever be able to associate with this man. But as soon as he attempted to switch their positions, Juushirou quickly pushed him down again.

"Not this time", he said with a husky voice that just didn't seem to be his own. "Now, it's my turn."

Shunsui blinked in surprise, but did not fight back; instead he leaned back and allowed Juushirou to do whatever he wanted. Hands roamed over his body, soon accompanied by soft lips. Teeth grazed his skin, and he groaned. The pale man continued down, down, and...

His eyes widened, and a fairly loud moan escaped his lips.

"Oh, _gods_", he gasped. "Juu... You..."

Strong hands grasped weakly at long white hair. Shunsui tilted his head backwards, feeling like he didn't know whether he was awake or dreaming. Soon, Juushirou's face was just above his again, and their lips crashed together in a heated kiss. Once again, Shunsui attempted to switch their positions, but Juushirou held him down and straddled him.

"You'll crush me if you're on top", he said with a smirk. "How about we try this, for a change?"

A blush on pale cheeks, and Shunsui couldn't help but smile predatorily. He could clearly see the want, no, the need in his lover's eyes.

"I never thought you this eager", he murmured jokingly as he watched how Juushirou positioned himself. Was this what they had been missing lately? Intensity, passion... Some change? When he felt how Juushirou lowered himself onto him with a loud moan, he decided that thoughts like that could wait.

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When the morning broke in and Juushirou slowly woke up, he noticed that he was not at the Ugendou. Instead, he was in Shunsui's quarters... But how he had gotten there, he had no idea. With a slight frown, he sat up, only to be greeted by a strong hand that pushed him back down.

"You should be resting." Juushirou blinked, seeing Shunsui loom over him with a warm smile. "Morning, sleepyhead. If you wonder about the change of room, I thought it best to move you before your third seats decided to see if you were alright. You did start to cough in your sleep, so I took you here and then asked Retsu to have a look. She says you're fine, but that you should rest a bit more and try to refrain from getting into any sort of... wild activities. Just for a while."

Juushirou blushed heavily and groaned. Clearly, Unohana knew exactly what had happened, and she gave advice accordingly. But the warm hand that now gently trailed through his hair made him relax and start to smile instead, even though the blush wouldn't disappear.

"I'm sorry", he said after eyeing Shunsui more carefully and seeing that the man had a black eye. "I was being stupid..."

Shunsui just laughed and pulled down the covers a little, revealing several large bruises along with a thin cut on Juushirou's side.

"I got my revenge", he said. "Besides, I got reckless when you called me... What was it you said again? An insignificant piece of hollow-shit that not even a dung-beetle would come near?" A grin. "I can't say it wasn't a strange insult, but you did get me worked up."

Juushirou laughed as well and shook his head, calmly sitting up. This time, Shunsui sat down behind him and pulled him into his lap instead, hugging him tightly.

"And last night", he murmured and planted a kiss on his lover's cheek. "You were absolutely amazing... I don't even have any words to describe it. I've never seen you act that way before, you wild-cat..."

The blush on Juushirou's cheeks got worse, but he turned his head a little and kissed Shunsui all the same.

"Same to you", he whispered. "You're always so calm and patient, but last night... I don't think I've ever seen you beg for something."

They smiled at each other, and Juushirou turned in Shunsui's lap, managing to straddle him. They kissed, a long and heated moment... Which got interrupted by Unohana's gentle voice from the door.

"Now, Ukitake-taichou, I did say you needed rest", she chided gently and smiled. "No such activities until I'm certain that you're alright. Which should be in about two days."

Ukitake blushed madly, and Shunsui stared.

"Have you ever heard the word 'knock', woman", he asked without thinking. "You freak me out when you just suddenly appear like that!"

She just smiled at them, and then calmly walked closer; Juushirou quickly climbed off his lover and allowed Unohana to check on him. Shunsui looked a bit grumpy, but he didn't say anything. And as soon as the healer had left, he grabbed his lover again and kissed him.

"In two days I'll make you relive last night", he promised with a smirk. "Or possibly surpass it."

Juushirou wasn't very certain about if he wanted to relive the moment... But another kiss, plus a few expert touches that made him groan, got him to make up his mind about it.


End file.
